


Delayed Notification

by Chelsea Frew (chelseafrew)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Mpreg, Mpreg Louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 13:56:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11991228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelseafrew/pseuds/Chelsea%20Frew
Summary: Louis is excited to discover that he's pregnant. He can't wait to share this joyous news with Harry. Unfortunately, he is to discover that sharing the news is not quite as easy as he'd hoped it to be.





	Delayed Notification

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sempreme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sempreme/gifts).



> I was pleased to be able to write this pinch hit for sempreme. I hope you like what I did with your prompt. This was beta'd by the fabulous CL, and any mistakes left in the story are mine and mine alone. Enjoy!

_ The First Time _

These were the longest five minutes of his life.

Louis tried to focus on his phone, but he couldn't. The letters in his e-mail swirled before his eyes, and he couldn't get a single player to score in his mobile FIFA app. So he ended up just staring at the timer app as it counted down to zero.

When the chimes at last went off, signalling his five minutes were up, Louis hauled in a deep breath and reached for the white stick he'd placed face down on the bathroom counter.

Used to be you had to interpret lines or look for a plus or minus symbol. No more. Now you just had to be able to read.

**Pregnant.**

Louis could feel the smile splitting his face. He had been right.

For about a week, he had been feeling a little off. At first, he had just thought he had a stomach flu, but when the nausea and sleepiness didn't go away, he began to suspect he was expecting. He had all the symptoms. Besides, though they hadn't been trying, they hadn't _not_ been trying, either.

Butterflies of excitement overcame the nausea for a moment. He couldn't wait to tell Harry.

* * *

Harry had had a writing session scheduled with the group he'd written his first album with. It was the first day of the new project, and Harry had been anxious to get started. It seemed like kismet to Louis that he had such fantastic news to share on what was already bound to have been a happy day for Harry.

In a surprise not nearly as happy as the one the white stick had given him that morning, Harry arrived home with not a smile on his face, but a frown.

Louis jumped off the couch quickly. "Harry? What's wrong, love?"

Harry walked right into Louis' arms and allowed Louis to hug him tightly. After they parted, Louis guided Harry to the couch and urged him to sit. Harry collapsed without argument, and Louis took a seat right next to him.

"What happened, Haz?"

Harry heaved a deep sigh. "It was just one of those days, you know. Nothing coming out the way I wanted it to."

Louis offered him a sympathetic smile. "I know exactly what that's like."

"No matter what I tried, nothing sounded right," Harry lamented, throwing his head back onto the cushions behind him.

Louis twisted himself so he could look at Harry. "It was just the first day, Harry. I'm sure tomorrow will be better."

With another sigh, Harry lifted his head to look over at Louis and said, "Well, it certainly couldn't be worse."

"Hey," Louis countered, "your first album was nothing less than amazing. Everyone loved it. I know it's a lot of pressure, but you can do it again. You just need to give yourself room to breathe."

"I know," Harry admitted. "Today just sucked."

It was at this moment that Louis decided he should probably wait to share his news with Harry. Much as he wanted Harry to know, Louis could wait until Harry wasn't despondent over a bad writing day.

"Why don't I order us in a pizza and we can watch some rom-coms tonight?" Louis suggested.

Harry gave Louis a warm smile. "That sounds perfect."

"Don't move a muscle," Louis ordered. "I'm going to take care of everything."

"My hero." Harry leaned over to give Louis a sweet kiss of gratitude.

Louis got up and promised himself he would tell Harry the news soon. Very soon. But right now…he had pizza to order.

* * *

_ The Second Time _

In the week since he'd taken the pregnancy test, there had not been a perfect moment to tell Harry he was with child. Harry was crazy busy with his writing, and Louis was busy either having morning sickness or trying to sort things out with his label. He'd recently taken on two new artists, and he was excited about getting to work with them.

Since he hadn't told Harry anything yet, Louis decided he might as well make sure he was well and truly pregnant. He called for an appointment with his doctor, anxious to make everything official.

Dr. Westphall was able to see him right away, and he was able to go without Harry's knowledge since Harry left early to get started on the day's writing session.

He didn't have to cool his heels in the waiting room for long before he was called back to an exam room. A nurse--Sabine--took his vitals, then he had to wait a little more before he got to see the doctor.

Nervously, Louis listed all of his symptoms for Dr. Westphall, concluding with the positive pregnancy test. "What do you think, Doc? Am I pregnant?"

The doctor smiled at him. "It certainly sounds like you might be. Why don't we get some blood and urine, then we can see for sure?"

Louis nodded. "Sounds good."

Dr. Westphall grabbed a cup from the cabinet on the wall and handed it over. "You take care of this first, then I'll have Sabine take some blood. It won't take very long for us to have a verdict."

Once Louis had provided the requested samples, he had to wait some more. He pulled out his mobile to try to distract himself. He managed to send out a few e-mails and scrolled through some of his social media before Dr. Westphall reappeared. He immediately stowed his phone back in his pocket and breathed deeply in anticipation of her report.

"Well, Louis," the doctor began, "I am happy to let you know that you are, indeed, pregnant."

Louis grinned. "I am? You're sure?"

"Positive," she assured him. Turning to his file on her laptop, she added, "And judging from the information you gave us, I would say you're just about four weeks along. By my calculations, that would put your due date at December 23."

"That's the day before my birthday!" Louis couldn't imagine a better birthday present.

"An excellent gift, then," Dr. Westphall read his mind, smiling.

"Is there anything I need to know or do?" Louis asked.

"Just take care of yourself. Try to exercise and get plenty of rest. No caffeine, no smoking, no raw fish," she ordered. "I'll have Sabine get you some pamphlets to read, and there's all kinds of information out there in books and online. Most important, though, is to just have common sense."

"Okay," Louis agreed.

"Call me if you have any questions whatsoever," Dr. Westphall encouraged. "And congratulations."

Louis beamed at her. "Thanks."

Armed with a handful of pamphlets, Louis whistled on his way back to his car. He was going to tell Harry that night. Now that Dr. Westphall had confirmed his pregnancy, Louis wanted to celebrate their growing family with Harry. And Louis had a plan forming already for just how he was going to let Harry in on the news.

* * *

The very first thing he did when he got back to his car was order in dinner from his and Harry's favourite Italian restaurant, ensuring it would arrive promptly at five-thirty, thirty minutes before Harry had promised to be home. What better food to announce a baby over than lasagne and ziti?

The next thing he did was stop at the bakery Harry liked that was just a few blocks from their house. He asked the lovely lady who owned the place, Barbara--who adored Harry almost as much as Louis did--if she could prepare a special cupcake for Harry. She agreed readily, and he was soon carrying the extra-special dessert home in a small white box.

It was barely noon when he arrived home, and Louis found himself with several hours to kill before he could share the best news he'd ever gotten with the best person he'd ever known.

He started with a nap; he was pregnant, he thought he was allowed. Then he tended to some label business, answering some e-mail and listening to some demos his new talent had sent over. When he'd taken care of that, he did some cleaning. That normally wasn't in his wheelhouse, but he figured it was way past his turn. Who knew, maybe he was already nesting.

La Piazza delivered at five-thirty on the dot, and Louis put everything into the oven to keep warm and set the table, making sure to add a vase of flowers fresh from the garden. Harry would probably know something was up, but it didn't really matter.

Harry got home just past six, and Louis was more than ready to put his plan into action.

When he spotted the decked-out dining room table, Harry whistled. "Wow! What are we celebrating?"

Louis grinned. "Just felt like doing something a little special. No real reason." Harry would forgive him the little white lie later.

Harry grabbed Louis' face in his hands and kissed him soundly. "I love you."

"And I love you, too," Louis returned. He backed up a short distance and gestured toward the table. "Have a seat. I've taken care of everything."

Harry moved to take his traditional seat at the table. "You cooked?"

"You should be so lucky," Louis said with a smirk. "No, I ordered in from La Piazza."

"Oooh." It seemed Harry approved.

Louis retreated to the kitchen to pull the food out of the oven. He plated servings of salad, lasagne and ziti on two plates, then carried them out to where Harry sat, checking his phone.

"That looks amazing," Harry commented, putting his phone to the side.

"Doesn't it?" Louis agreed. "Would you like wine, beer, water, soda?"

"Hm." Harry gave it some thought. "Just water, I think."

That was a relief. Louis would have the same and hope Harry didn't question Louis skipping the alcohol.

Louis got them two glasses of water, then took his own seat at the table.

"Dig in," Louis urged, as he picked up his own fork.

After a bite of each dish, Harry hummed with pleasure. "This is amazing."

Louis smiled around his own forkful of food. After swallowing, he said, "It is, isn't it?"

Throughout the rest of the meal, they discussed how Harry's writing was going--gangbusters, as it happened; he was very excited about the songs he'd created in the past few days--and how things at Louis' label were going--pretty well; two of his new acts were ready to start recording.

Louis was beyond excited to share his news with Harry, but he thought he was doing a pretty good job of pretending that this was just a slightly out-of-the-ordinary dinner, not an announcement that their lives were about to change. Harry didn't seem suspicious, in any case.

The butterflies were positively dancing up a storm in his stomach by the time Harry had cleaned off his plate and placed his fork on the empty dish. It was so close to the moment of truth.

"That was divine," Harry declared. "Thanks for thinking of it, Louis."

"You're welcome," Louis said. "But it's not quite over."

"It's not?" Harry raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Louis got up and picked up first his plate, then Harry's and informed him, "There's dessert."

"Oooh, yay!"

Louis was almost out of the dining room when Harry's phone rang. Louis stopped in his tracks to turn around to see who the call was from.

Harry looked at the screen. "It's Gemma. Should I…?" 

"Take it," Louis told him.

With a nod, Harry answered the call. "Hi, Gem. What's up?" He paused to listen to his sister. "Whoa, slow down."

Louis' heart sank as he listened to Harry's side of the conversation.

"He did what?" Pause. "That bastard." Pause. "Oh no, don't cry." Pause. "Sure. I'm coming right now." Pause. "Hang in there. I'm on my way." He ended the call, his face clouded with worry.

"What's wrong?" Louis asked.

"Gemma's boyfriend…well, ex- now, I suppose…broke up with her," Harry explained, standing up. "She's a mess. I told her I'd come over."

"Of course." Louis said. "Go."

Harry pocketed his mobile. "You sure?"

"Of course." Louis nodded vigorously, repeating, "Go."

"Hold dessert for me?" Harry requested, as he walked over to kiss Louis' cheek.

"Sure," Louis promised.

"Love you."

And with that ringing through Louis' head, Harry was off to go comfort his big sister.

Sighing heavily at this unhappy turn of events (for both him and Gemma), Louis took the plates into the kitchen and, lacking for anything better to do, went ahead and cleaned up the kitchen.

When the sink was empty, the dishwasher was full, and the counter was wiped clean, Louis retrieved the cupcake Barbara had made to order earlier that day. He sat down on the sofa in the lounge and held the cupcake in his hand. 

He ate the pink-iced side first, then the blue. By the time Harry got home from tending to his sister's broken heart, the mood would be all wrong. He would have to make yet another plan for telling Harry his news. Maybe the third time would be the charm.

* * *  
 _The Third Time_

For the next week and a half, Louis sought a good opportunity to tell Harry he was expecting. There were, however, none. Harry arrived home exhausted every day, barely able to make it through dinner before passing out in the first ten minutes of whatever they picked to watch on Netflix.

Though he woke up nauseated every single morning and that nausea tended to follow him on and off throughout the day, Louis threw himself into his own work. He was completely into both of the new acts who were now in the process of beginning to record their first albums, and he loved going back and forth between them to share advice and listen to them make magic.

Louis was approaching week six of his pregnancy and it was a beautiful, sunny Friday. Both of his acts finished recording early, and Louis decided to go for a walk after parking the car at home.

Not far away from his and Harry's house was a street full of little boutiques. Shoes, fancy dresses, expensive handbags. All were on display in the windows Louis passed. And, on the corner, where the little road met the high street, there was a store selling everything a posh baby could possibly want.

Louis checked to make sure no fans were around, and when he spotted no one, he entered the store, a high-pitched bell announcing his entry to the staff of the baby boutique.

A middle-aged woman approached him, a friendly smile on her face. "Good afternoon, sir. Welcome to Baby Blues and Pinks."

Returning her smile, Louis said, "Good afternoon. Thanks."

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" the saleswoman wanted to know.

Louis shook his head. "No, just looking for a gift."

"Ah! Well, let me know if I can help you with anything," she told him.

"Sure thing," Louis promised.

With one more smile, she left him alone to browse.

He looked at tiny little clothes, soft as silk stuffed animals, and cribs made from the best mahogany. It was all he could do not to lay his credit card next to the till and just say, "Give me one of everything."

After checking out everything he set eyes on, he decided to go simple...for today. He picked out a pair of small green booties. He even took the saleswoman up on her offer to gift wrap them. This would be the perfect way to let Harry know what was going on.

He wouldn't waste time on a catered dinner this time. They could order in pizza, then Louis would present Harry with his gift before any of their many sisters could call with an emergency.

By the time he got home, however, just the thought of pizza made him feel a little ill. The nausea he'd had that morning had subsided while he was busy with work, but on the walk back from the baby store, it returned with a vengeance.

He hung his jacket up and hid Harry's gift in the guest room closet--he knew Harry wouldn't have any reason to go in there at any time in the near future--before swinging by the kitchen for a can of soda and a box of crackers. He settled on the sofa and sipped at the carbonated beverage and nibbled at the saltines in the hopes they would calm his nausea.

The crackers and soda failed him, though. After an extended trip to the loo for some intense and wildly unpleasant vomiting, he ended up curled on the sofa wrapped in a blanket, which was where Harry found him when he arrived home.

Harry immediately pressed his hand to Louis' forehead. "You feel a teensy bit warm."

"I feel like shit," Louis whined.

"Did you eat something for lunch that might be the problem, or do you think it's a stomach flu type thing?" Harry wondered aloud.

Louis sighed. This was _not_ how he wanted Harry to find out they were having a baby. He told a little white lie instead. "I had some fried chicken that might have been bad."

Harry was making sympathetic noises just as Louis' stomach twisted and turned yet again. He threw the blanket around him off and ran for the bathroom, Harry hot on his heels.

He retched violently into the toilet as Harry rubbed soothing circles into his upper back. Even if Harry didn't know the full extent of what was going on, it was nice to have the support and sympathy.

Once he was done voiding the entire contents of his stomach--he hadn't thought he had much left after Round One; he was sadly wrong--any strength Louis had possessed was gone. He rested his head against the cool toilet seat and tried to regain his breath.

Harry removed his hand from Louis' back long enough to fetch a flannel, running it under some cool water. When he returned, he rested the cloth on the back of Louis' neck. It felt amazing.

"Thanks," Louis whispered.

"You think you're okay to go back to the sofa?" Harry asked.

Louis nodded slowly. "I think so."

After throwing the flannel in the direction of the sink, Harry ever so gently helped Louis stand and supported him all the way back to the lounge. He got Louis tucked back up into his fluffy blanket against a pile of pillows, remote control in his hand.

"You find something on Netflix," Harry directed once Louis was comfy. "I'll get some tea and soup. With any luck, one of them will soothe your tummy."

"Thanks. That sounds good." Louis hugged his blanket even more tightly around himself.

Harry leaned over to press a sweet kiss to Louis' forehead. "I'll be right back."

As Louis watched Harry walk away from him toward the kitchen, he thought about the present hiding in the guest room closet. He sighed. Yet another opportunity ruined. He began to worry that it would be a baby bump giving him away to Harry and not Louis himself.

He felt tears prick at his eyes, a combination of not feeling very well and being frustrated at having his plans foiled yet again.

He had himself under control by the time Harry returned to the lounge bearing a steaming mug of tea and a hot bowl of chicken broth.

For the first time all day, Louis was able to hold some food down. Harry's touch apparently did the trick. The soup felt so good going down his abused throat, and the tea was incredibly comforting.

Once he was done eating, Louis cuddled up to Harry and turned on the episode of _Breaking Bad_ they were up to. Sure, he fell asleep less than ten minutes into the show, but at least the evening ended better than it began.

That had to count for something.

* * *

_ The Fourth Time _

As he breezed past the seven-week mark of his pregnancy, Louis was noticing that his hormones were definitely raging. In particular, he found himself feeling desperately horny. He was so distracted by this feeling that he stopped trying to think of the perfect way to let Harry know about the baby. He was too busy thinking about luring Harry into bed for some sex despite the fact that Harry arrived home exhausted just about every night.

It was a Friday, however, and Harry had planned to take the weekend off, both to give himself a break and to give a break to his writing partners.

Louis planned to take advantage of this.

He ordered in Chinese food, and he and Harry vegged out in front of the television. Louis had told Harry to pick a romantic comedy, knowing this was Harry's favourite kind of movie and, as a bonus, Louis hoped the film would put Harry in the mood.

As soon as the credits began to roll, Louis made his move. He and Harry were already cuddled up on the sofa, so it was easy for Louis to begin pressing kisses into Harry's neck.

Harry responded just as Louis had hoped, moaning at Louis' touch. He snaked his hand under Louis' shirt, tweaking Louis' nipples. This made Louis' dick jump; it was not going to take much to get Louis to a peak.

They made out furiously for a few minutes before they separated for breath. 

"What's gotten into you tonight?" Harry asked, quickly adding, "Not that I mind, mind you."

"I've just missed…us," Louis tried to explain. "You've been so tired…."

"Well, why don't we catch up?" Harry suggested, eyebrows quirked. He didn't even wait for Louis to answer. He pushed himself up off the couch and reached down to pull Louis up, too.

Harry wasted no time dragging Louis up the stairs and down the hall to their bedroom. Once there, Harry guided Louis to the bed.

Louis swiftly situated himself at the head of the bed, and Harry clambered up after him, straddling Louis' thighs. He grabbed Louis by the sides of his head and pulled him in for a fierce kiss.

It became painfully clear to Louis that he wasn't going to last very long. "I need you inside me. Now."

"Bossy!" Harry teased, but he was already setting to work getting Louis undressed

Louis joined in, and in no time at all, they were both naked as jaybirds. "Inside me," Louis reiterated.

"Hands and knees?" Harry inquired, reaching for the lube they kept in the drawer of their night stand.

"Works for me," Louis agreed, adjusting himself so he was on his knees, his forearms crossed over a pillow for comfort.

Louis made sure Harry's preparation was speedy, pressing back on Harry's fingers as they stretched him one, two, three. His erection throbbed; he definitely wasn't going to remain hard much longer, not with Harry so expertly opening him up.

"Are you ready?" Harry checked, withdrawing his fingers--finally--from Louis' entrance.

"I've been ready," Louis informed him, wiggling his arse.

Harry made quick work of smoothing lube over his cock before pressing inside Louis at what felt to Louis like a snail's pace. "Faster, Harry. Now."

Harry only hesitated a second before following directions. In a blessedly brief period of time, Harry was setting a punishing rhythm. It was the best thing Louis had felt in weeks. It was exactly what he needed.

Just as he'd thought, Louis found himself reaching the precipice very quickly. The first time Harry found Louis' prostate, Louis moaned deeply. The second time Harry found his prostate, Louis came.

He was still shuddering himself when he felt Harry shudder and come, collapsing on Louis' back like a rag doll.

Louis allowed Harry to remain as he was for just a moment, then he said, "Oy. You're heavy."

Harry rolled off of Louis. "Sorry."

Louis shifted himself so he occupied his usual half of the bed. "No, it's okay. That was amazing. You're amazing."

"You are, too," Harry returned, climbing off the bed long enough to retrieve a warm flannel from the en suite. He returned to clean both Louis and himself. When he was done, he dropped the flannel to the ground to worry about later, then he slid back onto the bed.

Louis tugged their duvet up before pulling Harry in close so they could cuddle.

"Mmm," Harry murmured happily. "That really was truly amazing."

"It was," Louis agreed, snugging his head into the crook between Harry's shoulder and neck.

They lay silent for a bit, revelling in what they had just shared between them.

Louis decided that this was it. The perfect moment to tell Harry his news.

"There's something else that's truly amazing, love," Louis whispered. He paused ever so briefly, then dropped the bomb. "We're going to have a baby."

Very surprisingly, he got no reaction from Harry. He furrowed his brow. "Harry?" he inquired in a hushed tone.

The only response he got back was a soft snore.

Louis sighed with a far-too-familiar frustration. At this rate, Harry would find out they were having a baby when Louis went into labour.

He stared at Harry's sleeping visage for a full minute before he decided he might as well join Harry in dreamland. His news would just have to wait. Again.

* * *

_The Fifth Time_

A month after finding out he was pregnant also marked him being officially two months pregnant. In addition to daily bouts of nausea, Louis was also having minor panic attacks on the regular.

He had not yet been able to tell Harry he was pregnant, finding it difficult to find just the right moment. One of them was always too tired or too distracted or they had someplace they needed to be.

Louis was truly concerned that the right moment might not come.

In addition, he was beginning to worry that when he finally did tell Harry, Harry would be furious with him for taking so long to tell him. And he wouldn't blame Harry one little bit. He'd be mad if the situation were reversed.

Louis tried his best to cover up his anxiety, but though Harry remained oblivious for a while, it became increasingly clear he was beginning to notice that Louis was not himself.

One Saturday morning, Louis woke up feeling, for once, hungry. He decided to take full advantage of this fact by sliding quietly out of bed, careful not to wake Harry up from his much-needed rest.

Louis wasn't the best cook in the world--he usually left the cooking to Harry or takeaway--but he could do a decent fry-up. He got out eggs, bacon, tomato, and bread and began to cook up some breakfast, making enough that Harry could have some when he got up.

It smelled amazing, and it woke Harry up. He padded into the kitchen in a t-shirt, pants, and socks. He looked so adorable, Louis could hardly stand it.

"Good morning, H," Louis greeted him, smiling widely.

Harry walked over to give Louis a kiss, then nick a piece of bacon. "Good morning."

"Sleep okay?" Louis asked.

"I did," Harry answered. "Did you, or is this breakfast some frustrated cooking-because-you-can't-sleep thing?"

Louis shook his head. "I slept fine. I was just in the mood for a fry-up when I woke up."

Harry stole another piece of bacon. This time, Louis swatted at Harry's thieving hand. "Stop. I'm making plenty. You just need to be a little patient."

Harry sighed, so beleaguered.

Gesturing toward their kitchen table, Louis commanded, "Go! Sit!"

Harry sighed again, but then he followed directions and went to sit at the table.

"Coffee or tea?" Louis asked, once Harry was settled.

"Hm. Tea, please."

"Your order will be right up," Louis assured him, smiling big.

He was rewarded with a matching grin from Harry.

Mere minutes later, Louis set two full plates of breakfast and two mugs of tea on the table. "Bon appetit."

"Thank you." Harry picked up his fork and dug in.

There was silence for a minute or two while they staved off their morning hunger. Then Harry took a sip of tea before saying, "So, you've seemed a little jumpy lately. Anything going on?"

Louis' heart leaped with joy. This was it, the moment he'd been waiting for. He pulled in a deep breath and took a few seconds to formulate the perfect sentence in his head, the exact words he could use to let Harry know they were having a baby and, at the same time, keep Harry from feeling like he'd been lied to. By omission, of course.

He opened his mouth to share his news at the same time as Harry gasped. Louis' thoughts were completely derailed. "What?"

"You've planned something for today!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. "That's why the early breakfast."

"Um…." Louis didn't even know how to react to that.

"Where are we going?" Harry inquired. "Is it the sea? Paris? Oooh, I know, I know. Milan. To go back to that little Italian place we loved so much, maybe even get to see some of the sights this time or, even better, do some shopping."

Louis couldn't help but sigh. They _had_ talked at one point about going back to Milan. There were a couple restaurants they had discovered there which were amazing. They had hoped, too, that maybe they would be able to do a little more sightseeing than they had done in the past. Louis wasn't sure that enough time had passed in their hiatus to be able to sightsee quite the way they wanted to, though. They still tended to attract quite the crowd wherever they went. Harry would have been content, however, just to shop in Milan. After all, they apparently had some of the "best shops ever."

"I could definitely stand a mini-break this weekend," Harry went on, utterly oblivious to Louis' consternation. "I'm sure you could, too. It's been crazy the last month or so."

Harry didn't know the half of it.

With an enthusiastic squeal, Harry leaped from his seat to press a kiss to Louis' cheek. "I'm right, aren't I? That's what's had you all anxious the last couple weeks, secretly planning this trip. You are the best, Louis. Absolutely the best."

Sighing heavily yet again, Louis could only shrug and smile. There was no way he could tell Harry about the baby now. Not when Harry was sitting back down to shovel food in his mouth so he could be done and able to pack for their (imagined) trip. He might be happy to hear about the baby, but he might also be angry about the length of time it took Louis to tell.

Louis didn't have the heart to kill Harry's excitement in that way, so he simply excused himself from the table, telling Harry he'd be right back.

He needed to call his assistant and have her book them an impromptu trip to Milan. They were on their way less than two hours later.

* * *

_ The Sixth Time _

Harry was late.

He hadn't called Louis nor texted, and that wasn't like him at all. Particularly not when he'd promised to be home in time for Louis' special dinner.

Louis had decided he'd give a special dinner a third try, hoping this third time would be the charm, and he'd be able to tell Harry he was pregnant. He'd found a recipe for chicken wrapped in parma ham, and he got his mother's recipe for the perfect mash to go with it. Some fresh asparagus to steam completed the meal.

Harry had said he'd be home by six, so Louis timed everything so it would be ready when Harry came through the door. He set the dining room table, using his grandmother's good china and silver, given this was a special occasion.

For once in his life, Louis' cooking experiment didn't fail. He had everything plated by 5:59 p.m.

Then six o'clock came and went, and Harry didn't appear.

By six-fifteen, Louis was worried the food would be cold. He turned the oven on a low heat and placed the food inside to keep it warm.

By six-thirty, Louis was on his phone, calling and texting Harry repeatedly to find out where he was. When he got no answer, he began to become deeply worried that something unimaginable had happened to Harry.

By six-forty-five, Louis was on the verge of starting to call each and every person Harry knew. He was dialling the first number--that of Harry's manager--when he heard a key in the front door.

Harry breezed in like he wasn't almost an hour late and hadn't caused Louis an enormous amount of stress.

"Hey, Lou," he opened brightly. "Sorry I'm late."

"Sorry you're late?" Louis was incredulous. He rose from where he'd been sitting in their easy chair. He felt like he was standing on a ledge. "Sorry you're late?"

To his credit, Harry seemed to instantly get that Louis was not remotely happy. He sobered to explain, "I truly meant to be home by six. We got into this groove, though, this amazing song, and we kind of lost track of time."

"Did you lose your phone, too?" Louis batted back. "I texted you a hundred times. I called a hundred times. I thought something terrible had happened to you."

"I told you," Harry said helplessly. "We were in the zone. I wasn't checking my phone."

"You told me you'd be home by six. I cooked dinner," Louis told him. Outside himself, he was well aware he sounded just like a nagging housewife. His hormones didn't care one iota. "It was ready at six. I had to put in in the oven to warm. It's ruined by now."

"I'm really sorry," Harry tried again, his tone pleading.

"Is this really how it is?" Louis could almost literally feel his blood pressure rising. "You're going to make promises, but never keep them? That's not what I thought we were."

Harry furrowed his brow. "Louis…. You know what it's like when you're writing. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Songs don't have schedules."

"You made me a promise!" Louis screamed, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. "You made me a promise and you broke it!"

"Louis, I'm so sorry," Harry said, easing forward as if approaching a wild animal, hands up in surrender. "I didn't mean to do anything to hurt you."

"You can't lie to me, Harry," Louis said. It was a command that came from somewhere deep inside Louis, and he delivered it with steely-eyed seriousness. "We can't do this if you lie to me."

Harry's face darkened with more confusion. "We can't do what? Louis, you aren't making any sense. What's going on?"

Louis put a foot out from the ledge. Then, tears streaming down his face, he jumped. "I'm pregnant, you arsehole!"

The minute the words slipped out there--mostly of their own volition--Louis slapped a hand over his mouth. That was not even close to how he'd meant to share that information. It wouldn't even have made the Top 100.

Harry looked like he'd been hit by a truck. He stood stock-still with an expression on his face that was unreadable. After a long moment, he carefully inquired, "You're what now?"

Chagrined, Louis removed his hand from his mouth to quietly repeat, in the form of a question, "Pregnant?"

Harry took another long moment to process, then just as carefully as earlier, asked, "You're having a baby?"

Louis nodded. He wished Harry would just go ahead and react. Yell, cry, jump with joy. Waiting for whatever his response would be was just about killing Louis. Springs were not coiled as tight as he was.

As if he was deliberately trying to make Louis pay for not telling him earlier, Harry took another minute to think about this life-changing news. Slowly, then, the corners of his mouth began to turn up, and before too long, the smile on Harry's face caused his dimples to come out in full force. "You're having our baby."

And because his hormones were completely out of whack, Louis' reaction was to begin sobbing. The sobs were deep, uncontrollable, and shook his entire body.

Harry immediately pulled Louis into his arms. He held on tightly enough that Louis knew he was in no danger of flying apart.

Harry continued to hold Louis tightly as he cried. He whispered sweet promises that everything was going to be okay and that he loved him with all of his heart.

Eventually, the sobs subsided, and Louis was able to back out of Harry's arms. He used the backs of his hands to wipe his cheeks and reached for a tissue from the box on a nearby table. He handed one to Harry when he noticed there were tell-tale tear tracks on Harry's face. Louis hadn't been the only one weeping.

Taking the tissue Louis offered, Harry said, "Here. Sit." He guided Louis to the sofa, sitting right down next to him.

Louis pulled in a couple deep breaths, still recovering from his crying jag. "I'm sorry. I don't even know what happened there."

"This is why you've been so jumpy and distracted lately," Harry very belatedly concluded.

Louis nodded, shrugging sheepishly.

Smiling widely once again, Harry placed a gentle hand on Louis' still-flat stomach. "A baby. We're having a baby."

Louis was finally able to return Harry's smile. "We are. In December."

"December?" Harry's eyes lit up. "Your birthday's in December."

"I recall that." Louis chuckled. "My due date's actually the 23rd."

"Guess I already know my favourite Christmas gift this year," Harry commented.

"Mine, too." He placed his hand over where Harry's still rested on his belly. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I kept trying, but every time I tried, something happened to keep me from telling you."

Harry shook his head. "It's okay. It's all worked out in the end. I still have plenty of months left to be excited about the baby coming." He patted Louis' tummy before lifting his hand up.

"So, you're okay with this? A baby? Now?" Louis checked. "I know we hadn't exactly been planning on this."

"I'm more than okay with this," Harry assured him. "This is, literally, the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Better than being put in One Direction?" Louis asked.

"Better."

"Better than singing at the Olympics?"

"Better."

"Better than getting to sing with Stevie Nicks at the Troubadour?"

"Better."

"Better than meeting me?" Louis teased, grinning from ear to ear.

"Okay," Harry relented. "Maybe not better than that." He leaned forward and kissed Louis soundly.

"Good answer," Louis told him.

They grinned at each other for a few seconds before Harry returned his hand to Louis' stomach. He bent his head down so he could speak directly to the tiny being inside.

"Hi, baby. Your papa and I are so excited that you're coming. We absolutely can't wait to meet you," Harry said, his voice low and full of love.

The delivery of his news may have been just about as far from perfect as it could get, but Louis couldn't have asked for a better response. Or a better person to share this journey with.

Finally, it was time to get started.

End (28 August 2017)


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